Critical Opinion #2
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/07/chavis.education/index.html#cnnSTCText
This article by Ben Chavis, author and former principal of American Indian Public Charter School, is about the constant complaint that public schools need more money in order for their students to succeed. It seems obvious that public schools would benefit from more funding, however Chavis argues that this is not the case. He uses the example of the Oakland Unified School District which had a 602 million dollar budget for the 2008-2009. Apparently the school that spends an average of 16,270 per student, had some of the lowest test scores in the nation. Ninety-four percent of their eighth and ninth grade students tested below grade level and ninety-seven percent of their ninth and tenth graders failed the test. Chavis argues that it is not money that facilitates learning and success but instead it is qualified teachers. He also uses his own school, American Indian Public Charter School, to emphasize his point. This school has been funded less than 8,000 per students, and in 2009, the students “excelled in academics, physical fitness and any standardized test that they were given.” Also, “virtually all of our eighth-graders testing advanced in algebra, including 100 percent of our eighth-grade black students, Mexican-American students and American Indian students.” Chavis says, “I believe all the money in the world would not be enough to improve schools run by incompetent public school administrators. We need proven leaders who can prepare our children to be competitive members in a free-market society.”
I do agree with Chavis on the idea that we need capable teachers who are willing to push their students to succeed. It is important for a teacher to be passionate and knowledgeable about the background of their students in order for them to understand how they will benefit most. That being said, I do not agree that money is not a huge part of the equation. In order to prepare the students a school needs adequate funding for books, desks, and other materials for classroom activities. Not only are the materials crucial for learning, but the environment plays an important role as well. When a student looks around their school and sees vandalism and broken windows they will be able to sense the neglect and undermining feelings that the government has towards their education. Environment alone can decrease their moral and therefore their success. We need a balance between the quality of teachers and the financial support given to our public school systems.
Related articles:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/06/navarrette.obama.education/index.html#cnnSTCText
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/20/stimulus.education/index.html#cnnSTCText
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/21/duncan.teacher.education.reform/index.html
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That is a valid point that the article makes, Oakland Unified School district obviously does need money to continue operating, especially if they want to improve the quality of the education for the student but without good teachers all the good resources are useless. It is apparent with the overwhelming number of students that are failing the tests (97 percent) that more financial resources are not the answer to the poor educative services that are being provided. The real issue is the lack of competent teachers. Students need to be taught how to use the opportunities presented to them they cannot just be given cleaner newer facilities and be expected to excel in school based solely on that. That money could be better spent on finding suitable teachers that would be able to turn the students in the right direction. Clearly the teachers are actually responsible for the success of their students, especially at the elementary level because most young kids have never been exposed to study skills. The money needs to be better spent, not taken away and not increased.
ReplyDeleteI did not address other public schools because the article really did not much, but I do think that some public schools struggle with low funding but unfortunately the way that schools get money is by taxing and that takes more money away from the people. It is a difficult scenario, but as in Brian Shultz's classroom, the children proved that despite the drowning school the children were able to thrive given a good teacher.
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